India’s fate is tied to the rest of the world

Relevance: Evolution of India’s foreign policy.

Synopsis: It was through its global interactions, India defined itself throughout its history as an independent nation

India and the world

India’s fate has been closely tied to the rest of the world.

After independence

1. India required active engagement with a variety of partners for its survival, security, and development.
2. Independence and Partition left behind a messy territorial legacy. India’s first leaders opted for flexible and friendly relations with both the U.S. and the Soviet Union and their respective allies.
3. In fact, India initially received the bulk of development and military assistance from the West. It was only from the mid-1950s onwards that the Soviet Union extended support. India also played an activist role in the decolonizing world.

After Cold War

The 1991 Gulf war resulted in a balance of payments crisis and the liberalisation of the economy. The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, the 1993 Mumbai bombings, and the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir presented grave new security challenges.

However, the period that followed witnessed some important developments:

• the advent of the Look East Policy and relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations;
• the establishment of diplomatic ties with Israel;
• the signing of a border peace and tranquility agreement with China;
• initial military contacts with the U.S., and preparations for nuclear tests.

The Atal Bihari Vajpayee government built further upon these developments:

• conducting a series of tests in 1998, return to normal relations with most major powers within two years.

At the same time, efforts at normalising ties with Pakistan were frustrated by the Kargil war, the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 to Kandahar (Afghanistan), and the 2001 attack on India’s Parliament.

• These years also witnessed a rapid growth of the Indian economy, fuelled by the services sector, and a rising consumer market.

After 2004, the government worked extensively to resolve the outstanding question of India’s nuclear status. But, the global financial crisis in 2008-09 presaged a slight change in approach.

Beginning in 2013, a more assertive China began to test India on the border and undermine Indian interests in South Asia and the Indian Ocean Region.

Implications for India

1. India’s was successful in consolidating territorial gains, in accelerating economic growth, and in positioning itself in a leadership role.
2. Following the 1962 war with China, Pakistani military adventurism resulted in the 1965 war.
3. The question of Indian nuclear weapons acquired greater urgency following China’s test. Economic strides made, including the Green Revolution, undertaken with foreign technical and financial assistance.
4. Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation and the Bangladesh war altered India’s relations with both superpowers.

Conclusion

COVID-19 pandemic and its adverse effects on economic growth prospects, coupled with intensifying competition with China and turmoil in Afghanistan, will determine India’s fate in the future.

However, India has greater means to tackle them: the sixth-largest economy in the world, well-trained and professional military, growing network of international strategic and economic partners.